In addition to hacking via the DIN port in Roombas, iRobot did some iRobot Create models, which were strictly educational robots. Creates were mostly Roomba hardware without dirty vacuum cleaner parts, and with some additional features. They also did an optional microcontroller at one point, which plugged into the Create, to supplement the built-in.
This round Root with the pen at first glance looks like an old Logo turtle robot, but has more features. And the optional Lego support is interesting.
(Lego has long had its own Lego Mindstorms microcontroller product series. And starting before that, MIT and some other universities used Legos in introductory robotics courses.)
It's nice to see iRobot still interested in education, and the Root looks promising. One encouraging sign would be if a child could design and build their own effectors and sensors, such as a gripper, out of Lego, and interface them pretty easily with the Root (preferably not only with the pen up/down mechanics).
